Minnesota’s worst political massacre in decades ended not with glory, but with a delusional whimper, a manhunt, and a hyper-realistic mask stuffed in an abandoned SUV.
By Cliff Potts, Editor-in-Chief, WPS News
Dateline: Manila, Philippines — July 27, 2025
In the pre-dawn hours of June 14, 2025, Vance Luther Boelter—an ex-cop impersonator, armed extremist, and failed vigilante—launched a premeditated assault against elected Democratic officials in Minnesota. By nightfall, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were dead, and Senator John Hoffman and his wife were riddled with bullets but miraculously survived. Within hours, Minnesota was plunged into shock—and a manhunt began that would become the largest in the state’s history.
Boelter, a 57-year-old from Green Isle, Minnesota, was no genius revolutionary. After stalking officials for months and compiling a rambling kill list of nearly 70 names, he donned a hyper-realistic silicone mask and fake police gear before targeting two homes in coordinated attacks (U.S. Department of Justice, 2025). His first stop was the Hoffman residence. Despite ambushing them, both John and Kim Hoffman survived, each sustaining multiple gunshot wounds (AP News, 2025a).
At the Hortman home, Boelter executed Melissa and her husband Mark in cold blood. The loss sent shockwaves through both Minnesota and national political circles. Yet, no Republican leaders, including Donald Trump—whose administration Boelter once supported—attended the funerals or issued meaningful public condolences.
Boelter then abandoned his SUV in rural Henderson, packed with five firearms, fake police paraphernalia, detailed notes, and a chilling handwritten confession letter addressed to Trump ally and former Department of Justice official Kash Patel. The letter implied that Boelter believed he had divine or political sanction to act—a hallmark of stochastic terrorism fused with authoritarian delusion (Daily Beast, 2025; NY Post, 2025).
Despite his tactical preparation, Boelter’s escape plan was pitiful. He fled into the woods with no long-term strategy and was captured less than two days later near his home without resistance (Wikipedia, 2025).
As of July, Boelter faces six federal charges, including murder, attempted murder, and firearms violations, alongside a slate of state charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not ruled out pursuing the death penalty (AP News, 2025b).
What remains clear is this: Boelter was no martyr, no soldier, no revolutionary. He was a coward with delusions of grandeur, enabled by a political ecosystem that continues to flirt with violence and fantasy. His plan to terrorize the state’s Democratic leadership collapsed under the weight of its own incompetence—and left the rest of the nation mourning the cost.
Melissa Hortman’s funeral was attended by President Biden, Vice President Harris, Governor Tim Walz, and Senator Amy Klobuchar. They mourned not just a friend, but the state of the Republic she tried to save. As for Trump? Not a word.
Let the record show: when fascism tried to walk in the front door, it wore a mask and ran like hell the moment it got hard.
References
AP News. (2025a, June 16). Minnesota lawmaker, wife survive shooting. https://apnews.com/article/fbce6398689c6bed37782fb4d918aad5
AP News. (2025b, July 16). Boelter indicted on six federal charges. https://apnews.com/article/dc524910cce73d7a7987804a90aca2cf
Daily Beast. (2025, July 16). Boelter’s abandoned SUV reveals militia kill list. https://www.thedailybeast.com/cops-reveal-maga-madmans-abandoned-arsenal-and-creepy-mask
New York Post. (2025, July 16). Boelter’s letter to Kash Patel revealed. https://nypost.com/2025/07/16/us-news/vance-boelter-told-kash-patel-that-gov-tim-walz-told-him-to-kill-lawmakers-letter/
Wikipedia. (2025). 2025 shootings of Minnesota legislators. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_shootings_of_Minnesota_legislators
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